Shasta County’s measles outbreak has grown to nine cases.
The county’s Health and Human Services Agency announced Feb. 19 that a new case has been confirmed.
It’s linked to the health department’s investigation into the outbreak this year that started with a case identified on Jan. 30.
The county says people may have been exposed by the new case at the following locations:
- Redding Christian School, 21945 Old 44 Dr. in Palo Cedro, from Feb. 11 to Feb. 13
- A gym basketball game at the former CrossPointe Community Church, 2960 Hartnell Ave. in Redding on from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 14
- Prestige Urgent Care, 3689 Eureka Way in Redding from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 16.
People who were at these locations have been asked to call the Health and Human Services Agency at 530-638-5580.
Shasta County’s nine cases represent nearly half of California’s 19 cases reported this year.
Public health officials feared more cases in Shasta County could pop up.
Dr. Eric Sergienko, chief of the division of communicable disease control at the California Department of Public Health, previously told NSPR that about 160 contacts had been linked to the county’s original case in January.
Sergienko said while California enjoys a high rate of vaccination against measles overall, there are counties in the state where measles can spread more easily because of lower rates of vaccine uptake.
State data for the 2024-25 school year shows that 94.4% of kindergartners in Shasta County had received the full two-dose series of the measles vaccine. Two other North State counties also fell short of the community protection threshold. In Glenn County, the kindergarten vaccination rate was 84.5%, and in Trinity County it was 90.4%.
Community protection against measles requires 95% of a population to be immunized against the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The remaining 5% will be protected by the fact that measles will not spread among those who are vaccinated,” the WHO website states.
The vast majority of measles cases – about 90% – happen in unvaccinated people, the CDPH reported.
The measles vaccine is the best way to protect against the disease, Dr. James Mu, Shasta County’s health officer, previously told NSPR.
Two doses of the vaccine over a lifetime — typically given in childhood — are 97% effective at preventing measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
